Being the second story in my ‘Sister’s Saga’, this is a sequel to ‘The Bestest Little Girl In The World’ and you MUST read that first to understand the relationships here. Shego and Kim are sisters, not lovers there is a little ‘What If?’ here but not too

Rating:
Rated-PG for combat violence and intimations of a physical
relationship and intimate contact between consenting adult females,
also some slightly harsh language. If this will offend you, please
read something else.

Summary:
Being the second story in my 'Sister's Saga', this is a sequel
to 'The Bestest Little Girl In The World' and you MUST read that
first to understand the relationships here. Shego and Kim are
sisters, not lovers; there is a little 'What If?' here but not
too much. In this story, Shego has just graduated from State
University with a bachelor's degree and Kim has just graduated from
Middleton High School.

Chapter
the Third / Setting Up Shop

"'Three
Hot Chicks'?"

"No,
that sounds like we're running an adult Internet site!"

"And
you'd know that how?"

"I
plead the Fifth Amendment."

"'Heroes
For Hire'?"

"You
frighten me, Spooky. You read way too many comics as a kid."

"They
were graphic novels!"

"Besides,
Shego, it's also copyrighted."

"'Charlie's
Angels'!"

"Too
old school, and it's copyrighted, and we don't know anyone named
Charlie."

"Moving
right along; how about 'Lesbians In Tight Clothing'?"

"Hey!
I'm not a lesbian!"

"Trust
me, Kimmie, you'll get more boyfriends that way."

As
it happened, their clothing was rather tight at that, though still
fetching in an 'Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.' sort of way. Betty had
created a form-fitting outfit that looked the most regimental and
militant of the three, while Kim was wearing her black crop top and
loose cargo pants. Shego had opted for a sleek one piece overall
garishly colored in a 'dazzle' pattern of green and black.

"Ok,
then, how about 'Kim, Betty and the Bitch'?"

"Girls…"

"No,
I like 'Shego, Betty and the redheaded fat girl.'"

"Girls!"

"Oh,
yeah, how about 'Ghostbusters'? Guess what that makes you?"

"GIRLS!
This is getting us nowhere and besides, Kimmie, that last one is
copyrighted, also."

"More
boyfriends, huh? Hmmm."

The
last month had been invested into turning the dream into a reality,
and that road had been rife with potholes.

Finding
a place to stay for Betty and Shego had the simplest task so far.
Politely declining the sincere offer from the Possibles to stay with
them for as long as they wanted, the girls both agreed that it would
be much too awkward to live with Shego's parents and change the
life they had become accustomed to. They were a couple already,
regardless of legal standing, and were eager to resume their amorous
activities, but only somewhere private.

Kim
herself had provided the solution to two challenges; she had
approached the mayor of Middleton and was readily granted one of
Drakken's many abandoned sites, this one being several miles
outside of town and totally stripped of anything deadly or nefarious.
There were, as Kim had postulated, already viable sources of power
and water and drainage to the sewer systems, and the habitation
dormitories of the lair proved as suitable for the new Team Possible
as they apparently had for the former henchmen who previously
occupied them.

The
property was theirs and the Town of Middleton would pay the utilities
for the first year as gracious show of support from the town council
to Team Possible, both old and current. The council was overjoyed
when it was explained to them what the former lair would be used for;
Middleton had been the setting for far too many of Drakken's
schemes.

Kim
wanted to stay at the lair also, and the older girls were quick to
agree. The parents were not wholly comfortable with their younger
daughter living in the lair with Shego and Betty, but after several
assurances from both girls that they would behave like responsible
adults, the Possibles relented. The work ahead would necessitate long
hours and Kim felt that she needed to be on-site and close to the
action until the time came for her leave for college.

"Welcome…
to my secret underground lair!" It looked very strange to the three
young women as they used the access code provided to them by the
Middleton police department to gain access to the primary vehicle
garage, Shego's tiny and battered Volkswagen being the only thing
in the center of the vast space.

"Shego,
it's hardly secret. Both our local and toll free numbers will be in
the new phonebook next month."

"And
it's not underground either, Spooky. It's covered by a fake layer
of grass and trees to look like a hill."

"…
well, throw me frick'n bone once in a while, why don't you!"

The
central chamber was enormous and there were corridors leading off in
many directions. In addition to living quarters and bathrooms there
was a functional hanger, several small kitchenettes and one huge
dining hall with full kitchen, a medical bay and exercise room,
computer and communications suites and rooms and rooms for storage,
laboratories and anything else that they could possibly think of.

This
would be the new headquarters and home of Team Possible.

Computer
resources and Internet access were limited to two desktop personal
computers and the individual laptops of the three teammates. Medical
supplies and first aid would be limited to whatever they could
purchase from the local pharmacy or through medical supply houses,
though Anne Possible proved invaluable for her advice. Transport was
increased by two hundred percent when the VW 'bug' was joined by
a panel truck that would be used mostly for hauling in equipment, and
a rebuilt and slightly battered M1117 Guardian Armored Security
Vehicle.

"Guys,
is this thing legal to own privately?" Kim was inspecting the
massive chassis while Betty inspected the engine and Shego pretended
to know something about vehicle maintenance. "How did you even get
this here? It looks like it's been through a war."

The
older girls exchanged glances.

"Well,
you see, Kimmie, it's like this…" Shego relinquished the floor
to Betty.

"I,
um, made certain connections during my military service that would
prove helpful in obtaining certain, shall we say, resources that
might well bolster our new enterprise."

"You
mean you stole it?" It wasn't so much a question as a request for
clarification.

"'Stole'
is such a harsh word, Kim. I prefer to think of this former chariot
as being 'previously owned by someone else', namely the Army, and
the transfer of ownership being difficult to document. Can you live
with that?"

"I
don't know… this goes against the very thing we're hoping to
stand against, doesn't it?" Kim was serious; she was young but
not stupid, far from it. She knew the difference between bending the
rules and breaking them and this seemed a little too much like the
latter.

"Baby,
it's been decommissioned. It's surplus now, and would have cost
us an arm and a leg if we'd tried to buy it. It has seen its day
and saved some lives and can still fight the good fight here on the
home front."

"Plus,
look here," Betty left the engine to indicate several brackets and
bolts along the top and sides. "Even though the armaments have been
removed, the armor is still first rate. It may not be the 'Mach V'
but for around the tri-city area, we'll be Hell on wheels."

Only
after a promise was given to teach the petite redhead how to drive
the massive beast was she willing to overlook the indiscretion. This
was actually a compromise; Kim had wanted to be the one to choose the
color for its new paint job and name.

"Hot
pink, and we'll call it the 'Kimminator'!"

"Doy!
We'll paint it green and black and it will be the 'Shegonator!"

"I'm
going to go shoot myself. You girls do whatever you want."

Ultimately
the color was matte black with an empty gray field on the hood and
doors for the eventual logo. Huge and practically a void when the
lights were down, all three agreed that it looked absolutely badical!

The
most difficult part of the setup for the new team had been Kimmie's
involvement. Shego would always be the over-protective big sister,
but she had agreed that Kim would be an equal partner in the company.
The problem arose from her status as a minor and the family's
desire to see her attend college.

Both
Shego and Betty were adamant that Kim's membership was contingent
upon Kim's class attendance and GPA; she was more than welcome to
go on large scale missions during breaks and local ones after
classes, but her degree was essential. Very intelligent, Kim was
confident that this would not present an obstacle, neither did her
family; the young woman had already planned to attend State College
of Middleton instead of the University like Shego had because of the
distance.

Another sore point was that Kim's name wouldn't appear on any of
the legal documents; being a minor meant that everything would be in
the name of Sheila Gordon Possible and Betty Director until Kim was
legally an adult. While only a small issue really, Kim required
additional assurances that the older girls were not trying to shut
her out, even more so that the issue of her college education.

"You
promise that I'll really be a member of Team Possible, right?"

She
had been close to tears that afternoon; it had been a particularly
trying day for all of them and the last of the paperwork was being
signed and notarized to get the business started. This had been about
two weeks ago and Kim was feeling in danger of being left out.

"Kimmie,
you ARE Team Possible! This is just until you're of legal age and
then we'll have the new papers drawn up immediately. No one in this
room knows more than you what the state of organized crime is like
around here."

"We
promise. Believe me, I've seen your sister's reports of your
abilities in the field, plus the press videos of the battles you've
had. There's no way that we'd ever let you slip through our
fingers. I have a lot to learn about fighting super-powered weirdo's
and there will be no better teacher than you."

"Ok…
if you promise." The eyes didn't look as wet anymore but the
beginning of a pout was on the horizon.

"Yeah,
we swear." Shego winked at Betty in a way that the older girl knew
could not mean anything good. "This place is so huge that we'll
always be needing people to clean and dust and HEY!" Kim was
already up and running across the top of the table at her sister.
Betty had to ultimately get a handgun from the weapons locker and
fire a round through the ceiling before she could get their
attention.

Other
than make their preparations and get the headquarters ready for use,
what few spare moments weren't necessary for sleeping or eating was
invested in working out and training. They were each excellent at
hand to hand combat and several styles of martial arms, with Kim
being better at accuracy and speed while Shego was better at
endurance and strength and Betty was a happy medium of the two, as
well as being an expert marksman.

Throw
Shego's plasma in for good measure and they believed that nothing
could stand against them.

The
girls had been working harder than they ever had in their lives, both
in body and in mind, to make their dream a reality. Tempers would
occasionally flare and each was feeling the stress in their own way.
They were desperate to prove to themselves and the world that they
could create something good and right, but what they really needed
was to get out and actually DO something instead of planning for it.

The
fact that they cared deeply for each other and that they already
thought of themselves as an extended family helped immensely, and for
the most part they had been able to agree to every aspect and facet
of their joint endeavor.

Except
for the right name.

"Ok,
let's focus, shall we?" Betty was leaning as far back as her
chair would go, head flopped back and neck limp, slowly turning her
chair around and around with idle motions of her feet. "We're an
independent contractor for security and public safety. The name that
we chose has to define that purpose."

"Yeah,
we fight bad guys and give them to the police!" Kim had brought her
grappling hook gun to the lair and was firing the hook at stacks of
empty crates for target practice after having removed the tether.

"Leave
it to Kimber-dweeb to be eloquent as always."

"So…
let's pick a name that describes what we do."

"Oh,
I know! The 'Justice League'!"

"Kimmie,
you really want us to get sued, don't you?" Shego had taken her
massive length of black hair and had combed it down evenly from the
crown of her head, either looking like Cher on a bad day or 'Cousin
Itt' on a good day; this was so that no one would notice if she
were to nod off to sleep during the discussion.

"Shego,
she's got something with the 'justice' part. I'm calling a
vote and remember that it must be unanimous." Betty took a breath
and leaned over the broad table. "All in favor of using the word
'justice' in the name, say 'aye'."

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

"Aye!
Halleluiah, the 'ayes' have it." Betty was relieved that it
only took two hours to reach the halfway point of establishing a
name; maybe the second half would be easier. "Now we just have to
establish a scale."

"Scale?"

"Yeah,
scale; are we going to be 'Justice Inc.' or 'Justice Ltd.'…?"

"How
about 'Justice For All'?"

"Damn,
that's a good one." Shego reached out to bump fists with her
little sister.

"You
know what would make this discussion easier? Beer."

"All
those in favor, say 'aye'."

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

"No!
It's too early in the day and we have much to do and Kim's not of
legal drinking age."

"How
about 'Shego, Kim, and the Buzzkiller'?"

"Oh!
Is it too late to change my vote to 'Josie And The Pussycats'?"

Betty
Director was at her wit's end. Between the hard work and thought
and keeping the Possibles in line and seriously focused or preventing
them from tearing each other apart when tension ran high, she was no
longer in the mood for shenanigans.

"GHAA!
WE ARE NOT A BAND, AND IT'S COPYRIGHTED AND I AM NOT A BUZZKILLER!"
She raised her fists and slammed them down on the table. "If we
ever hope to create an agency that is respected for dispensing
justice on a global scale, then we had DAMN WELL BETTER ACT LIKE
PROFESSIONALS!"

"She's
very excitable, isn't she?"

"I
certainly hope that you're not going to act like that around our
child, are you?"

"You
two can officially kiss my ass for the next five minutes!" Betty
swiveled her chair away from the table and allowed herself the time
to calm down and control her temper. The girls were just kidding her,
she knew, but if they didn't get out and ply their new trade they
would never have the chance to get noticed.

Kim
sighed and looked to her older sister.

"Sheg,
Betty said 'global' a moment ago. That covers the idea of scale,
doesn't it?"

"It
does, pretty much as big a scale as we could ever hope for." Shego
quietly rolled her chair around the table to be closer to the fuming
woman. "Baby, we're sorry. We're just bored, that's all."

Betty's
reply was to glance at her watch; four minutes remained. Shego knew
better than to push her partner when she was angry; she shrugged to
her sister and with two minutes remaining, Kim called a vote of her
own.

"All
those in favor of the name 'Global Justice', say 'aye'."

"Aye."

"Aye."

With
over a minute left, Betty turned around to face them.

"Aye.
I'm sorry I blew up like that. I'm going to go nuts if we don't
get out of here." She sighed and looked around the cavernous space.
"Kimmie, how do you normally receive notifications that there's a
crime or disaster in progress?"

"Well,
there are a couple of ways. I used to subscribe to
'friendfoe-dot-net' but their system frequently shuts down so the
notification and private message services were very sporadic. I can't
rely on them."

"Yeah,
I remember. 'FF-dot-net' can be a real pain that way." Shego
readily agreed.

"Note
to selves; we'll get our own web site and have someone manage it
for us from here. Otherwise, what else is there?"

"Shego
and I used to get calls from friends and other local folks if the
action was going on in Middleton, Upperton or Lowerton." She
whipped out her cell phone. "I've always called mine the
'Kimmunicator' and Spooky's is the 'Shegophone'."

"You
two are wack. But that's why I love you." Betty was smiling at
Shego and the tall pale girl returned the smile, but Kim looked a
little uncomfortable at the remark.

"Beyond
that, I'd either catch events on the news or turn on the scanner at
home to listen to the police and rescue frequencies."

Betty
looked thoughtful, her eyes slightly glazed. With a snap of her
fingers, she stood and walked down the length of the chamber to the
parked 'ASV'. The Possible girls glanced at each other and
followed her.

"This
thing still has its original radio, complete with broadcasting
capabilities. Until we outfit ourselves with the necessary
communications technology, we can use this." They all climbed in
and let the huge machine idle, the ventilation system preventing the
exhaust from accumulating. The radio buzzed and popped and they
adjusted the tuning to monitor for any activity that might let them
get out of this hole and onto the streets.

Ironically
that didn't have long to wait; a local news report brought them all
to attention and made the frustration of weeks of hard labor fade
away in a heartbeat.

"They
said that the Bueno Nacho is being robbed!"

"Yeah!
'Gunman with hostages'! Spank'n!"

"Mm,
and we haven't had lunch yet. Punch it, Shego!"

"Gronk!"

The
engine of the beast was revved to life and the wheels gripped the
slab beneath as they turned towards the camouflaged door to the lair
and drove towards it at full speed. The cavern was so large and they
had been parked so deeply into it that they had plenty of time to
build up a good head of steam. It was also fortunate that this meant
plenty of room to hit the breaks and skid to a stop.

Kim
climbed out and ran over to the manual control button on the wall.

"Note
to selves; get a damn automatic door opener for emergencies! This is
stupid having to open and close the damn door ourselves!" Once
clear of the egress, Kim closed the hidden doorway and climbed back
in the vehicle. Even though they barely crested 60 MPH, it felt as if
they were driving a building and that nothing could stop them.

"Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na,
da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na…"

"Kimmie,
please! This is serious and we should be in a serious frame of mind!
There are lives in danger, and we…"

"Uh,
Betty, that wasn't me."

"SHEGO!"

"…
sorry, sweetheart…"

Betty
was right; their chariot definitely was NOT the 'Mach V' but they
arrived at the center of town soon enough. The entire police force of
Middleton had formed a barricade around the tiny sombrero-shaped
building, and more than a few state troopers were on the scene as
well. If there were hostages inside, it might not be too long before
the Feds also sent a negotiator; the girls couldn't see anyone that
looked quite that official. The 'ASV' ground to a halt well
beyond the action and the three huddled for a last minute briefing.

"Betty,
you're taking the front and Kimmie and I will go in the back
entrance. You stay nice and visible out in front and pretend to be a
negotiator for the hostages."

"Got
it. I'll keep them talking and you get those people out." They
both looked to Kim. "Your primary task will be to lead the people
out of there; don't argue because that's the most important task
here, right?" Kim nodded and raised her thumb in acknowledgement;
this wasn't her first barbeque.

"Now we just have to get past them…" Betty pointed at all the
police. They left their vehicle behind and confidently walked closer
to the barricade.

"Leave
that to me. I've worked alongside most of these folks for the past
three years at one time or another."

Kim
took the lead and the older girls let her, agreeing in the personal
assessment of her chances. They had just left the closest knot of
onlookers when a young police officer noticed their proximity and
moved forward to stave them off. He was very young and his features
were dark and initially unfriendly but his eyes widened and he seemed
more relaxed when he was finally close enough to speak to them.

"Kim!
Hi! And I guess that this is Shego?" Kim motioned to her partners
that the sitch was under control and they converged on the young
officer.

"Hi,
Will. Shego, Betty, this is Officer Du, just late of the Middleton
Police Academy." The officer was not much older than Kim and the
way that he was looking at the young redhead made it pretty obvious
that he was eager to please. The older girls returned the greeting
and the three let Will give them the particulars.

"Adult
male, arrived two point five hours ago, entered and was seen arguing
with the manager; the manager was heard yelling that the man was
brandishing a handgun, at which point several patrons and employees
ran out of the building. We've had no communication with the
subject and no one has approached the building." Officer Du looked
through the barricade and past the other anxious members of law
enforcement.

"If
the guy shows his head, he'll be lucky if someone doesn't blow it
off."

"KP!"

All
eyes turned to the lanky young man that was running towards them.
Betty was bemused to see that this tall, blond and freckled newcomer
was wearing what appeared to be the male-cut version of Kim's own
mission outfit. He ran right up to them and Kim greeted him warmly
and even Shego smiled a little.

"Oh,
this is great! I'd hoped that you'd be here, KP!" The boy
looked to Shego and nodded. "Hey, Shego! You look good! KP told me
you got back in town a few weeks ago. You planning to stay?"

"Yeah,
Ron, I am. Look, I suppose you realize that we're here to do the
old 'Team Possible' thing, and Kimmie and I would appreciate it
if you'd stick around to help coordinate our actions with Office Du
and his pals. Will you do that for us?"

"Yeah,
sure!" He blushed a little and kept glancing over at Kim, who in
turn was shyly avoiding direct eye contact with the boy. Will Du
seemed impatient for Ron to leave and was also doing his best to get
Kim to notice him. There was a simple plan discussed and the five
broke apart, but not before Shego could snag Ron's attention.

"Say,
Ron, I've been meaning to thank you for the years that I was in
college and you worked with Kimmie to keep Team Possible alive."

"No
big; we looked out for each other, you know?"

"I
know that you and Kim have been friends forever and that you and I
never really got along, but… but you always had her back when you
worked together and I'll never forget that." She reached out and
gripped his shoulder. "Thanks. I really mean it."

Tall
as he was, Ron seemed to grow taller with those words.

"I
have big plans for the Team and I'd like you to meet with us
something soon. Interested?"

"Well,
yeah! Thanks!" He looked back to where Betty was reviewing the
finer points of their plan with Kim. "I'd really like to, um…
I'd like that, sure." He jogged away in the general direction of
Officer Du. She walked over to where Betty and Kim were waiting for
her.

"So
here's the plan, one more time; I make a big show of talking to the
police, something that the gunman will surely notice and hold his
attention. You and Kim go around back and enter via the rear door,
getting any hostages you find out quietly, and then subdue the
gunman." Betty saw that they all understood and agreed to the plan.
"Shego, you give me a plasma flash as a sign that it's all clear;
I'll advise the police not to fire or anything when you come out."

Promising
to wait for her sister before taking action, Kim moved off towards
the rear of Bueno Nacho. Betty held Shego back and gave her a hug.

"Betty!
Not in public, please!"

"I
love it when you blush. You turn a really pretty color of green!"

"Ghaa!
I swear that we'll make it publicly known one day, but not right
now, Ok?"

"Sure,
baby, I understand." The auburn haired woman grinned. "Kimmie
sure doesn't seem to mind the attention. How many boyfriends does
she have?"

"Please
don't let her know that I told you, but none, to be honest. She met
Officer Du a while back when he started at the police academy and
she's known Ron forever. She's so cute and nice and everyone
loves her, but she usually doesn't move beyond friendship." The
emerald eyes were slightly downcast and Betty noticed.

"Is
that a problem?"

"What?"

"That
everybody loves… her?"

"What?
No! She's the greatest and she can do anything; she's a hero. Why
shouldn't everyone love her?" Shego shrugged. "I'm not
jealous, if that's what you're asking!"

"Not
even a little? Not of Kimmie, so much, but of the glory?"

"Well…
maybe a little. She's never, and I mean NEVER said or done anything
to draw more attention to her. She just glows, is all; she shines
with this perfection that everyone loves and wants to be near. I love
her too; she's my dear one and has always been the most important
thing in my life." Shego gave her life-mate a meaningful look.

"She
always will be. Can you accept that?"

"I
think I can. I love her already and she'll always be a part of our
family." She held the green and black clad woman even tighter. "But
these are your people, 'Spooky'! This is your home town and
you're about to show them exactly what Team Possible is made of!"

Shego
appreciated the fact that her lover understood the feelings of
alienation the pale green woman had felt throughout her life. Betty
didn't release her until they were almost to the growing crowd of
people, and not until she whispered one more thing into Shego's
ear.

"Baby,
together we're going to make the world love you!"

As
the plan had dictated, Shego did not join Betty at the impromptu
command center directly in front of the windows. She slipped through
the crowd and would join Kim at the back of the building. Betty saw
Will and Ron talking to the Sheriff of Middleton, a slender man with
light brown hair and a high forehead above a pair of eyes that
probably did his smiling for him, at least when the situation called
for smiling.

Right
now the man's entire face was set hard and determined. Will Du made
the introductions.

"Betty,
I was just informing Sheriff Murphy that you are affiliated with Team
Possible and I also told him about your plan to enter the building."
Murphy stepped forward and took her hand.

"Glad
that you folks are here. I'm new to the area but I've already
worked with Team Possible before. Those two saved my bacon a few
years ago when my partner and I found ourselves in dire straights."

"Here
in Middleton?" Betty wanted to keep talking to this man because it
was a part of the plan to distract the gunman inside, but she was
also intrigued. Shego had shared some fantastic stories with her and
they were always getting cards and emails from grateful folks that
Team Possible had saved in the past.

"No,
that was back in Detroit; major corruption and scandal between the
city government and a huge development and technology contractor,
also some pretty major drug manufacturing and distribution. My
partner and I were ambushed by some thugs while we were investigating
some activity out at an old industrial site; Lewis was safe enough
but they were about to blow me away when Shego and Kim showed up."
He paused to give some instructions to his officers and he watched
them move off to comply before continuing.

"They
were apparently on the trail of some guy named Lipsky that may have
been involved at some level of the corruption, but I'd never heard
his name come up. Doesn't matter, though." He met Betty's gaze
and his eyes did smile, albeit briefly.

"I
wouldn't be the man I am today if not for those two."

"And
your partner?"

"Lewis?
She quit the force and got married, had a couple of kids. Good for
her, I say. My wife and I brought our son here to raise him far away
from that sort of garbage." They became quiet, each focusing on the
sitch at hand, Betty once again thinking of the family that she and
Shego hoped to have one day. Her ruminations were cut short when she
realized that the Sheriff had asked her a question.

"I
beg your pardon?"

"There's
a rumor that you three are starting your own business; something
about security?"

"We
certainly hope to make a name for ourselves, sir."

He
nodded and looked back to the center of attention for his entire
force.

"Hell
of a day for this, that's for sure."

The
back door of the Bueno Nacho was flanked by a corral for storing
waste and an outdoor freezer for perishable foodstuffs. There were no
windows at the back and the crowd had been so dense that both Kim and
Shego had been able to get to the rear door unseen; there was no way
that anyone looking out of the huge plate glass windows would see
anything but police cars and officers and guns.

"You
got it?" Shego kept away from the door so as not to block the light
and hinder Kim's progress. The petite redhead was worrying the lock
of the rear door with a straightened piece of wire and a picking rake
that she always kept on her person.

"…yep…"

Kim
was very focused on the task at hand, feeling her way into the lock
and gently aligning the tumblers. She held her breath until they both
heard and Kim felt the metal knob turn under the constant pressure
from her palm. She grinned up at her big sister and shifted away from
where she had been kneeling at the door. Now was the time for stealth
and she whispered, not daring to speak out loud.

"It's
all in the wrist!"

"Kimmie,
you've got to teach me that some day!" Shego whispered in reply
and tousled the younger girl's hair. They gently pulled the door
open, just wide enough to admit their slender forms but no unwanted
light or noise from the outside.

The
back storage area was clean and neat, no one and nothing where it
should not be. Moving forward, as silent as Ninjas, they found the
kitchen area to be equally tidy. Shego gave a few signals to Kim that
they should separate before moving off to the service counter and Kim
towards the manager's office.

They
were facing each other minutes later, having been unsuccessful in
locating any hostages. Brows furrowed in puzzlement, they crept to
the dining area of the Mexican restaurant, looking into every corner
and under every table and still finding nothing out of place. They
were standing with their backs to the counter, staring out at the
crowd of police and civilians and watching Betty doing her pantomime
with Sheriff Murphy when they heard a tiny noise behind them.

It
was from the kitchen area, where they had already searched. Turning
around and seeing that there was still no sign of danger, they
carefully moved back to the stainless steel counter tops and cabinets
and sinks. Trays, cutlery and ovens were all orderly and clean, just
waiting for the lunch rush, the metal surfaces of the stoves making a
gentle ticking sounds as they cooled.

"Kimmie?"
The word was barely spoken, almost a breath of air.

"What?"

"Why
is everything so clean? This was open and busy when this happened,
right?" Both girls glanced around at the spotless perfection of the
fast food restaurant.

"Yeah,
this place should be ass-deep in meat and cheese and grease right
about now."

"Language,
Kimber-dweeb."

"Yes,
Daddy!" Spoken as quietly as possible so as not to alert anyone,
the interior of the place was as quiet as the grave. That made the
metallic crash from the rack behind them all the more startling.

An
entire metal rack of kitchen tools and pots leaned forward
unexpectedly and fell forward to the tiled floor, scattering shiny
objects in all directions and revealing a thin bespectacled man
wearing what appeared to be the uniform of a Bueno Nacho employee.
The girls both knew this man and had seen him in this very
establishment for years.

"Ned!
Get down!" Shego spun around to cover her sister as Kim grabbed the
hiding man and propelled him towards the rear door, firing questions
at him all the way.

"Where
is everyone else?"

"I…!"

"Where
is he? Where is the gunman?"

"Wait,
there…!"

The
skinny man was stumbling as Kim dragged him through the kitchen, her
job made all the more difficult because he was fighting her all the
way; she assumed that this must be a stress reaction. She still
pressed him for information; her sister was still inside and plasma
or no plasma, Shego could be in danger.

"Ned,
please! Where is the gunman and where are hostages?"

"THERE
ARE NO HOSTAGES!"

Kim
stopped just at the metal door, holding the man up against the back
wall. He was shaking by now, beads of sweat mixing with what
certainly looked like tears.

"What?
What are you talking about?"

"There
are no hostages, there never were, it's not my fault and I DIDN'T
DO ANYTHING WRONG!" One quivering hand removed his glasses while he
wiped at his face, hardly able to breathe. Kim turned away and gave
yet another visual inspection to the area in back; just as before,
this certainly didn't look like a hostage situation.

Keeping
her hands on Ned, mostly to avoid letting him fall over, she called
out.

"Shego?
You'd better get back here!" Her sister joined her in a few
heartbeats.

"Kim,
what's with the yelling?"

"He
says that there are no hostages." Unable to verbally support the
redhead, the man simply nodded, wheezing.

"None?"
The narrow head shook a negative to the taller woman.

"You're
sure?" Nodding again, less wheezing this time and more color rising
back into his face.

"Was
there ever a gun?"

He
nodded and pointed to the drawer of the manager's desk in the tiny
cubicle just off to the right of where they stood. Leaving Kim to
hold the man upright, Shego walked over and tugged the drawer open;
sure enough, there was a handgun, a simple revolver of what looked
like a .38 caliber resting next to paperclips and a few pens that
were missing their caps. Leaving the gun in the drawer, Shego walked
back to the others.

"Ned,
what's going on here?"

"I
swear that I didn't do anything wrong! I never stole any money or
food or anything!"

With
a shared glance, the girls led the skinny man to the front of the
serving area and lifted him bodily up to sit on the counter. Kim
dispensed a small cup of soda while Shego let him calm down some
more.

"Ned,
please tell us what happened. Take it slow and don't leave out any
details."

"Some…
some big corporation just bought up all of the local franchises of
Bueno Nacho and moved their own staff and managers in. Everyone else
was offered transfers to stores outside of the area." He took a
long swallow of the soda. "This is a fast food place, for crying
out loud; no one gets offered a pay raise to transfer in the fast
food business!"

"Good,
good… so then what happened?"

"I
didn't want to go and I guess that my employment record was too
good for them to outright fire me. Some pretty-boy named Eric was
appointed manager and all of a sudden he was calling me into the
office every other day with 'anonymous complaints' that I'd
been seen stealing money from a register, or that I was taking food
out to my car during breaks. I never did anything of the sort! Then
this morning he just pulled me away from my place at the counter and
he f-f-f-… he fired me!" The young man looked absolutely
stricken.

Kim
was leaning against the counter watching Shego's reactions to what
they were hearing. Ned was always an odd guy; a loner and a bit of a
nerd but they both felt that he was probably the best thing that
could ever happen to a place like Bueno Nacho. He was a great
employee and would probably have become a manager one day. Now he was
a wreck and his world had ceased to have meaning. Shego didn't
understand the sitch anymore now than when they first walked inside.

"Ok,
we follow you so far. But what about the police report of a gunman?
And what hostages were they talking about?"

"Well,
after I heard the 'F-word', Eric reached into his pocket and said
that he had my final paycheck. I was completely stunned; I guess that
I would have held my hand out for a hot coal even if he'd told me
that my hand would catch fire. What he handed to me sure wasn't a
paycheck, it was that." Ned used his cup to gesture toward the open
desk drawer.

"This
Eric guy handed you a gun?"

"He
actually put a gun in your hand?"

"Yeah."
Ned looked sick. "I've never even seen a gun up close, let alone
touched one. I just looked at it and wondered what I was going to do
about my job when Eric yelled, 'He's got a gun!' and all heck
broke loose!" The man began to wring his hands together. "I swear
that I didn't know what was happening!"

"It's
Ok, you're doing great. Now, you said that he gave you the gun, he
yelled 'gun' and then everybody ran out?"

"Yeah."

"There
never were hostages?"

"No!
Never! Everyone had already run outside before I could react; they
were all screaming and yelling and I was too shocked to move. By the
time I thought to do anything, there were a million cops outside and
I knew that I was in deep trouble."

"And
you've been in here alone all this time?"

"Yes.
I, uh, cleaned the place and turned everything off." His eyes
glazed over as he visualized the specific instructions in the Bueno
Nacho Employee Handbook. "'In case of emergency, all appliances
are to be deactivated to prevent fire.'"

"So
why do the police think that there were hostages?"

"I
don't know, unless that's what Eric told them…"

"Kimmie,
Ned's dry; hit him again and get one for each of us, will you?"
Shego moved closer to the glass of the main windows. "I'm going
to give Betty the high sign." Cupping her hands, Shego generated a
'bubble' of plasma; lacking enough power to create a blast of
force or flame, it dissolved quickly in her hands but not before
flaring in a blossom of bright green light.

Peering
out through the window to the crowd across the parking lot, she was
relieved to see Betty react and begin speaking animatedly with
Sheriff Murphy. Officer Du and Ron were standing with them and Shego
watched as Murphy apparently instructed the young men to spread the
word to 'stand down'; as they ran down the front line, the police
officers were holstering their weapons and taking a more relaxed
posture. Returning to the other two, Shego had some instructions for
Kim.

"Baby,
I'd like you to go out there and tell Betty that everything's Ok
and that I'm just assuring the subject that he won't be hurt.
Tell Murphy that the gun is secured and that we'll be out in a
minute." She stroked the girl's cheek. "Will you do that for
me?"

"Sure.
When will we tell them what's really going on?"

"As
soon as WE know what's going on, we'll tell them! This is weird,
Kimmie, really weird. But we'll tell Betty as soon as we get out of
here and head back to the base. In the meantime, I want to have a
quick word with Ned." Kim nodded and they both turned to watch Ned,
who was glancing around the abandoned restaurant like a lost child.
She reached out and patted his knee, smiling at him when he looked at
her.

"It'll
be Ok, Ned, really. Just do whatever she says and we'll do what we
can to make sure you don't get in trouble." Ned looked
appreciative, even if less than fully confident. Kim left them and
carefully walked out of the small building by the front door.

"She's
right, Ned. I believe you and see no reason for you to tell us a
story as crazy as this unless it were true. But the police aren't
going to be so open minded… not without something to back up your
story." Shego slid down from the counter and helped the shaking man
down onto his feet; he was going into adrenaline withdrawal and
wasn't as steady as he should have been.

"Will
I have to go to jail?"

"Yes,
I think you will, at least until we can get this sorted out. We'll
convince Sheriff Murphy that you aren't a danger and that you
should be kept away from anyone else. But I want you to listen to me;
I promise that Team Possible will be making full reports to the
police and Kimmie and I will tell them exactly what you told us. I
promise you that we'll do all that we can to get you out of jail
and back home as quickly as possible." Shego held onto the man's
narrow shoulders and turned him around to face her.

"Ok?"

"Sure,
Ok." He looked crestfallen but resigned, patient if not hopeful.

"Then
stand beside me and don't be afraid. We'll make sure that no one
hurts you." Together they walked to the door and out into the
parking lot.

"…and
so ends the crisis today at the Bueno Nacho here in Middleton; the
gunman is now in custody and there has been no loss of life. The
patrons owe their safety, maybe even their very lives to this brave
young man who was just appointed the manager a few days ago…"

"Senator,
you should see this!"

The
young man was severely dressed in a suit and tie with a shirt collar
so pressed and tight that, if he turned his head too quickly, he
might slit his throat. He had kept the hotel suite's television on
while busily arranging the Senator's schedule for the rest of the
week, only taking notice when he heard the name 'Middleton'.

"What?
I'm in the can, here!" The voice was muffled and did happen to be
coming from the general vicinity of the bathroom. "Trust me, you do
NOT want me to open this door right now!"

Spence
had turned up the volume and was absorbing the details of the news
report so that he could appraise his employer when he left the
bathroom and returned to their work of the Senator's schedule. It
was several minutes before Spence heard the bathroom door open and
his boss walked into the suite's living room area.

"Whoo!
Do not, I repeat, do NOT go in that room for at least an hour."

"No,
sir."

Spence
was well aware that when his boss made a statement like that, the man
was serious. Not that the man didn't frequently play pranks on his
aides and advisors; the Senator was renowned for his incredible sense
of humor and playful spirit. The man had adamantly refused to grow
up.

"Hey,
Spency! You want a beer?" The suite had a fully stocked kitchenette
and the refrigerator door was heard to open and close, the sound of
bottles tinkling in the other room.

"No
thank you, sir."

"Why
not, it don't cost nothing…"

The
Senator was wearing his favorite jeans and had left his shirt hanging
out over his belt. The man was barefoot, not unusual when he was in
for the night, and his five o'clock shadow made him look less like
a U. S. Senator and more like an ex-football player gone to seed. In
truth, the older man had once been athletic, but age and lifestyle
had added pounds to his fireplug frame that made him appear soft.
More than once the Senator had proven that he could still hold his
own in a fight, much to the embarrassment of his fellow politicians
and the delight of the Washington, DC press corps. His constituents
absolutely loved him, and that alone kept him in office.

Well
into middle age, the man would still occasionally try to out-fight,
out-party or out-drink men less than half his age, and usually he
won. The years and the loss of his beloved wife had made the eternal
clown grow up a bit since he had left his college days behind him for
the tawdry world of politics, but the man was a force of nature and
nothing could slow him down.

When
Senator John Blutarsky entered the living room area, he was dancing
with two bottles of beer.

He
held one bottle in each hand and was moving them back and forth,
around and up and down and making them twist and sway to a tuneless
song that he was humming, smiling down benevolently upon the glass
containers as if he were angel in dire need of a shave. After making
one bottle sweep it's 'partner' into a low dip, he clinked
their necks together in a brief but passionate 'kiss' before
gently setting one beer down beside the printed copies of his monthly
agenda and smashing the other bottle on the edge of the table,
effectively making the liquid inside more easily accessible.

Spence
wished for the ten-thousandth time that he'd taken the job at the
post office back home.

"You
can have this one if you change your mind." The Senator slid the
undamaged bottle closer to his assistant.

"No
thank you, sir." Spence decided to draw the man's attention to
the news on the television. "Senator, there's a news report of a
disturbance in Middleton. A fast food restaurant was being robbed or
something by an ex-employee."

"Middleton?
Aren't we going there in a few days for a fundraiser?"

"We
were, but in light of this, maybe we…"

"Spency,
you worry too much." The man took a quick drink of beer and set the
broken bottle down, gingerly picking a few stray bits of brown glass
from his mouth. The beer would likely stay on the end table and
become flat before he took his next drink; most of the Senator's
drinking exploits were for show these days and years of
over-indulgence had finally taught him that fat, drunk and stupid
were no way to go through life.

"Now
than, sir, there are few details about the Middleton visit that…"

"Hey,
three hot chicks! Spency, turn up the sound!" Far too used to such
exclamations than he would like to be, Spence increased the volume
and looked to the TV to see what had drawn the Senator's attention.
The video footage of the Bueno Nacho incident was running and in the
background there were three oddly dressed women speaking to a very
confused looking Sheriff.

"…
integral in the apprehension of the suspect and assisting the local
police in this matter was the newly reformed and expanded Team
Possible."

The
older man pointed to the television and nudged his assistant.

"I've
heard of that one, the red headed one. She's as cute as a button
and kick's major ass."

"Sir,
I think that she's just graduated from high school."

"Spency,
you are just no fun." John grinned.

"No
sir." On the television, the video image shifted to show the rest
of the Team.

"Hello,
what have we here?"

"…
beside the teen-hero Kim Possible are her older sister Shego
Possible, whom viewers should remember as being the originator and
co-member of Team Possible along with her younger sister, and they
have been joined by Betty Director, new to the Team and certainly…"

The
three girls had been in a deep discussion with Sheriff Murphy when
the film was taken, hardly noticing the press until the Sheriff had
moved off to have a word with his deputies about whatever he'd been
told by Shego and Kim. The presence of the lights and the reporter
had apparently gotten their attention because the redhead suddenly
began mugging for the camera and held her hand over the head of the
taller, pale girl in a familiar 'bunny ears' gesture.

No
sooner had the pale woman turned and yelled at her sister than the
auburn haired woman in the dark blue outfit grabbed the green and
black clad girl in a tight hug. The camera clearly registered a
deepening in the taller girls greenish skin tone and moments later
she jumped as she'd been goosed.

"…
reputable sources say that this reappearance of the upgraded Team
Possible are due to a plan for these three to create a private
security taskforce, based in Middleton, and likely continuing the
world-saving, crime-fighting exploits made famous by the original
founders. This reporter, for one, wishes them good fortune. This has
been Margo Ogram reporting for WACK News at Five; back to you, Todd."

"Hey,
I bet they're lesbians!"

"Sir?"
The younger man reached out and turned the set off before there could
be any further distractions.

"See
those girls in the tight clothes? See how they're acting around
each other, all huggy and kissy and stuff?" The older man waggled
his dark eyebrows at his assistant.

"Sir,
if you're using me to test some new verbiage on a speech about
equal rights or same-sex marriage…"

"I
am not talking to you any more." John shook his head in mild
disgust.

"Thank
you, sir. Now, about the visit to Middleton…"

"BRILLIANT!"

"Sir?"

"Here's
what we'll do; you call the Middleton police and arrange to have
this, uh, this Team Possible work with our own security detail. That
way I'll get to meet them in person!" The Senator snagged his
beer and toasted his excellent idea; it was still fresh.

"We
can also arrange to stop by that Bueno Nacho and congratulate the
manager for getting everyone out safe and sound."

"Sir,
that's… actually a good idea. I'll make all of the calls first
thing in the morning."

"You
do that boy. Stick with me, kid, and there will be lesbians in tight
clothing and Mexican food for everyone!"

Senator
Blutarsky set the beer back down where it would remain untouched
until Spence cleaned the room up after the older man went to bed.
John glanced back to the desk of the hotel suite and gazed at the
photograph of his late wife, almost able to hear her make fun of him
for never outgrowing his juvenile college ways. If she had been here
now, he'd have been joking right along with him over the 'lesbians
and Mexican food' line.

"Yep,
I suspect that Middleton will prove to be an interesting visit!"

WACK
was a local station that served just the Middleton, Lowerton and
Upperton cable markets, and wouldn't be seen outside of that
general area. The video feed that was being displayed upon the
enormous view screen now was being piped in from an old
communications satellite that had been hijacked years ago. The room
was dark and the face of the sole living occupant was starring at the
screen fixedly, his features illuminated only by the shifting colors
of the video picture. He was also watching the report about Bueno
Nacho and the arrival of Team Possible.

"Eric,
you have done well. Now that every Bueno Nacho in the area is staffed
by only our people, we can set the trap."

The
man hadn't turned his head or moved in any way, but another shape
reacted to his voice and came closer. It was a tall young man, tanned
and with stylishly arranged hair, hands clasped at his back and
standing at ridged attention.

"Thank
you. The interference by Team Possible was an unforeseen event."

"Hmm,
maybe… but I believe that this will work to our advantage. When
that buffoon Blutarsky stops for his fundraiser he will surely want
to be seen with either you or, at least, the heroes that saved the
day! It's too much of a 'photo-op' for any politician to pass
up!"

The
man's face appeared almost to be blue in the light radiating from
the video screen. He pressed a button on a small remote control in
his gloved hand and the screen deactivated. Another button caused the
room to be filled with light.

His
face was still blue.

"By
the end of the week, I'll have a United States Senator under my
complete control and will have rid myself of the meddlesome Team
Possible forever!"

Next,
the brain-curdling conclusion!

Author's
Note: notes have been sparse this trip, but here's one; there were
a lot of references made to the intellectual property of others so I
must atone. Marvel Publishing Group owns 'Heroes For Hire' and
'S.H.I.E.L.D.', Aaron Spelling was the executive producer of
'Charlie's Angels', 'Ghostbusters' was written by Dan
Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, 'Justice League' is owned by DC Comics,
'Josey and the Pussycats' is owned by Hanna-Barbera, 'Cousin
Itt' is the creation of Charles Addams, and the characters 'Murphy'
and 'Lewis' were written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner but
you'll have to figure out where they came from yourself. I'm too
tired!

At
the end of this chapter I reintroduced us to someone with whom many
are well acquainted; I hope that no one minds seeing him in action
again, even if in fiction and with my own personal twist. You will
see him again in at least one other story of mine. The character was
created either by John Landis, Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney or Chris
Miller.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.